Counting Cadavers
by akmarceau
Summary: Before 'Major Crimes', there was 'The Closer'. But what was before 'The Closer? Set before 'The Closer' and 'Major Crimes' but with all our favorite people... Just younger, and straight from the academy.
1. Chapter 1

_Set in my own little Major Crimes universe. _

_Sharon never married Jack, she doesn't have children (yet), and everyone is in their early twenties. Yes, this means there is no Detective Sykes, Buzz, or Detective Sanchez (yet). _

_Confused?_

_Bare with me as I build this little AU world, and I hope you like it!_

_(As always, Major Crimes is not mine)_

* * *

Cadaver #1

As rough as it was being handed _children_ straight from the academy (Chief Pope wasn't exactly _handed_ them), they weren't too bad. Or so it seemed.

Glassy eyed and confused, Pope watched as the rookies examined the new area and exchanged introductions. Everyone seemed to be getting along, except for a beautiful woman who stood off to the side and forced a smile when someone approached her. She stood still, glancing around the room, and taking in every last detail. She was the only female in the group.

The three males stood in a semi-circle, laughing at the other's jokes. After a couple minute, one of the males, _Andrew Flynn_, Pope recalled, approached her. Flynn seems to (attempt) a conversation, but to no avail. The woman must've answered his question and nothing more. Flynn seemed a little upset, but he kept talking.

_Probably about himself,_ Pope thought as the woman just listened and nodded. No flirtatious smile, or twinkling eyes.

The rest of the guys finally realized they were missing a man and quickly, they joined him again—including the woman. She stood rooted in her spot for a while, before she slowly began to back away and towards the windows. She gazed out across the Los Angeles skyline. Flynn kept his eyes on the woman, but hid ears on the guys. Pope decided it was the perfect time to make his grand entrance.

Stepping out of the office, Pope made his way to the whiteboard.

"Excuse me," Pope called over the chatter of the men. "Please choose a desk." Pope gestured to the shining desks in front of him, one for each rookie. These rookies were lucky, when Chief Pope was a rookie, he was lucky if he had standing space. The board thought it would be good to pull the top detectives from the academy, toss them into a group and hope that they work well together. The whole idea was to see how detectives work together, an experiment.

The woman stationed herself by the windows, slightly isolated from the group. Flynn took the desk in front of hers. The other men filled Pope's center and right side.

"So," Pope began. "My name is Chief Pope, I will be overseeing this mess until one of you guys earn the team and can properly lead. Until then, there is much the academy hasn't taught you, that you must learn." The group gave Pope tight nods as they waited for him to continue. "Let me just go over simple things right now, everyone just want to tell me their name?"

"It's not preschool," a short heavy set man snarled.

"Knew there was going to be a smart-ass in the group. What's your name?"

"Nap time!"

The guys let out low rumbles of laughter. Pope sighed and stalked back into his office. Seconds later, he returned with manila folders. He flipped quickly through each, although everyone was pretty sure Pope had the files memorized.

"Louie Provenza. Arrested at eighteen for public nudity," everyone chuckled and Provenza blushed a little. "Arrested at nineteen again for public nudity. Says here your mother made you walk out of the holding cell nude still-"

"Wanted me to walk out with as much dignity I walked in with," Provenza smirked, a brighter blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Andy Flynn," Flynn said standing up.

"I know," Pope said dismissively. "You're Michael Tao," Pope lifted his chin to a bald man. The man- Tao- nodded back. "That leaves you," Pope smiled towards the only woman of the group, "to be Sharon." Sharon nodded, her delicate features stoic. "Anyways, since I've been handed all you people and I haven't seen your skills yet. So, I have a crime scene staged downstairs. Acquaint yourselves with this floor, and met me in the garage in half an hour."

The staged crime scene was a perfect place to evaluate the new group's detective skills and profiling abilities. The academy shows test scores, not what they've been tested on.

"Okay!" Provenza shouted, breaking the momentary silence in the room. Provenza sat flat on his ass and started counting scuff marks on the floor.

Tao and Flynn smirked at the wise man, and Sharon just rolled her eyes. Sharon stood and walked around the room, examining everything in greater detail. Flynn stood too, and started to follow Sharon around. Pope shook his head at the interaction.

"How'd you graduate from the academy?" Flynn asked, clasping his hands behind his back and carefully stepping towards Sharon. Their shoulders bumped in a flirtatious way- until Sharon stepped to the right, breaking the contact.

"Same way you did, detective," Sharon mumbled walking down the hall into yet another room. It seemed like a break room, equipped with a state-of-the-art coffee machine. Flynn trailed her into the room and watched as Sharon familiarized herself with the cabinetry.

"Do you like coffee?"

"No, I like tea. Detective," Sharon asked turning to face Flynn. "What is it you want?"

"What makes you think I want something?"

"I'm not sure I should grace that with an answer."

"You just did."

Sharon shot a narrowed eye look at Flynn as she brushed passed him and into an interview room.

"Will you have dinner with me?" Flynn asked as he followed Sharon into the interview room.

"No."

"Lunch?"

"No."

"Breakfast?" Flynn asked hopefully.

"No."

"Gosh, I'm hurt!" Flynn feigned, a hand dramatically gripping his heart.

"Detective, I've known you for thirty minutes, I will not go out with you," Sharon said sternly as she headed back into the hallway and into electronics.

"Why'd you become a cop?" Flynn asked as he shuffled like a lost puppy after Sharon.

"Personal reasons," Sharon replied defensively. There were many questions she wanted to ask Andy, but I didn't seem like the right time.

"I became a cop because I was a terrible kid, I felt I owed it to myself to be better. Plus the girls at the academy were hot," Flynn spoke with a quirky smile as he leaned against the doorframe. Sharon let out a faint sound of disgust as she slipped by him.

Sharon headed into the hallway a fourth time, leaving a bewildered Flynn behind her.

"Where are we going now?" Flynn asked stepping into the elevator with Sharon. Sharon pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

This job was going to be interesting

…

"What do you think of the woman?" Provenza asked Tao a little while after Sharon had left with an awestruck Flynn at her heels.

"She seems quiet, private, doesn't seem to trust many people, she seems mature-"

"No, I don't need you to profile her. I could easily do that, only thing I'm good at. I think she's hot. Flynn seems to think so too," Provenza said hoisting himself off the ground and back into his swivel chair.

"Sorry, I've got a woman," Tao said holding his hands up in mute surrender.

"Ah-ha! Tell me about her."

"She's very special and beautiful," Tao said a smile spreading across his face. Every guy likes boasting about his girl. "She's smart. Played heard to get for a while. Eventually, she agreed to go on a date with me, and it was perfect, she was perfect."

"I had a girl like that once. On the third date, she told me she was married to an old rich guy. I think it was her way of dumping me nicely," Provenza shared with a smile. Tao chuckled and glanced at the clock.

"Let's head to the garage, the Chief wanted us down there by now," Tao mentioned, never one to be late. Provenza groaned but got up. The two friends walked to the elevator.

…

"Okay. So here we have a staged crime scene. I will be using this scene to evaluate your skills, and the way you work with others. Ignore me, work, and return to the main floor so you can profile the killer," Pope explained to the rookies as the four entered the 'crime scene'.

"Looks like blunt force trauma to the head. Small abrasions along the wrist and forearms-"

"Looks like a dog or cat scratch," Provenza commented, interrupting Tao, and looking over the dummy doll.

"I've got cat food in this cabinet," Flynn said as he picked up the food from the cabinet to show the rest. Sharon stood off to the side, pacing around the room, slowly moving in a spiral technique she must've picked up from the academy.

"Sharon?" Flynn asked. Tao and Provenza stopped their work to look at the interaction. The two friends exchanged a quick glance before their attention fell back upon Sharon and Flynn.

"What are you doing?" Flynn questioned, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Listening and observing," Sharon replied as she crouched down to look at the rug. Tao shrugged and Provenza rolled his eyes. The two getting back to work. Flynn eyed Sharon and watched her every move. Sharon stood and walked two more small steps before crouching again to study the rug.

Pope observed how the guys shared their findings amongst themselves, ignoring Sharon. But Sharon was doing her own thing, not touching anything but observing and listening. Eventually, Sharon stood off to the side, her hands clasped behind her back. Sharon's emerald eyes studying the men just as Pope was studying her. She had a bubble surrounding her, full of authority and control, and Pope was seriously considering putting Sharon in charge of the division. Although this was a trial run, there was no definite end to the project. If it worked, it worked, if it didn't, then there was the threat of being shut down. The project was a test, an attempt, Pope just hoped to God that this would work.

Chief Pope checked his watch, their time was up.

"Alright," Pope announced with a clap of his hands. "Return back upstairs, and profile this guy."

The team of four stopped their work and headed back to the elevators.

Pope stayed behind, he examined the scene with interest, looking at everything thr guys touched. Then, Pope crouched and studied the rug.

He didn't see whatever it was Sharon saw.

* * *

I hope this made some sense to everyone! I will be posting more chapters later on.

As always, please review!


	2. Twelfth Story Jumper

Thank you everyone for all the quick love for this story!

I'm glad you see what I see with story and hope to keep you interested!

Some of the things said will be de ja vu moments to actual episodes, from both The Closer and Major Crimes.

Major crimes is not mine!

Enjoy!

* * *

Laughing, the three males walked back into the main room. Sharon followed quietly behind them. It's not that she was shy, but rather she was afraid. Sharon had never seen men act so natural around her. Normally, they were pushy, demanding, and wanted attention twenty-four/ seven (at least that's how her past boyfriends had acted). These men were kind, funny, and even if they ignored her, she didn't mind.

The group shuffled into their seats and sat quietly. They all patiently waited for Pope to arrive, and when he didn't, they awkwardly stared at each other.

"Let's go over what we know," Sharon said standing. She took control of the group with ease and walked over to the whiteboard. In capital letters with a ref marker, Sharon wrote, 'Cadaver', followed by 'blunt force trauma to the head', 'small abrasions', and 'cat food'.

"Sharon?" Andy asked lightly. "What is it you saw on the rug?"

Sharon smiled a genuine smile. It brightened her features and the guys just stared in awe- even Tao.

"Well, gentlemen, I saw one thing- but first, what type of shoe was the dummy wearing?" Sharon watched as the men thought about it.

"The dummy was barefoot," Provenza commented.

Sharon's smile grew as she said, "But there was a high heel mark in the rug."

"So it was a hate crime?" Tao asked, his brows furrowed in deep thought.

"All murders are hate crimes."

"But not all hate crimes are murders," Provenza stated. It was probably the only wise thing he'll ever say.

Sharon hummed, saying, "Our killer was young or elderly, not good at walking in heels. Strong, she a managed to bring down our five- foot- two victim, and smart enough to get away," Sharon wrote as she spoke. Provenza grunted in agreement.

"Huh," Pope said as he rounded the corner into the main room. "Never thought of using the whiteboard like that."

"Chief," Flynn stood to address the older man. "I think Sharon should be our leader."

Pope's priceless expression of shock was surprising. From Flynn's view, Pope seemed to have favored Sharon the most so far.

Tao mumbled something that sounded like, "I second that." Provenza was the only one who disagreed.

"I think I should be the leader. I mean, who's better than me?" Pope smirked at Provenza's words and shook his head.

"I'll take into consideration your… nominations," Pope said as he checked his watch. "We have a little over five hours before shift ends. This time will be your normal no-case day. If you get a case though, you're up all hours. Right now, this police department is financially sound, so overtime is no problem. Explore some more, and you'll know when the next task comes up."

There was something foretelling in Pope's sentence that made everyone shiver. Chief left the room.

"So," Tao said, trying to break the second awkward silence of the day. "Anyone from around here?" It wasn't a terrible conversation starter, but not the best one either.

"I grew up in Harlem, New York," Flynn shared.

"I've got parents here. I grew up in Port Arthur, Texas," Provenza stated. The group looked expectantly at Sharon.

"I grew up in Ithaca, New York, my parents still live there," the fact that Sharon spoke about herself was a shock itself. "What about you, Detective Tao?"

"I was born and raised in San Francisco, California."

It was nice that everyone got to share something about themselves. It was just a step closer to becoming a full team.

**Cadaver #2**

Bethany Turner was told everything was safe. A wire cable would be wrapped around a harness that would be attached to her waist. The cable would be held by two men and was to be bolted to a cinder block. All Bethany was to do was sand on the edge of the twelfth story window and pretend to jump.

Someone would be trying to talk her out of jumping. When Bethany felt persuaded to back out, she'd back out. the plan was fool proof.

"Ready?" Asked one of the men who was to hold the cable- and Bethany's life.

"Ready," Bethany confirmed, drawing in a shaky breath to calm her nerves. Bethany took the ten small steps towards the window with weak knees. There were many things that could go wrong in a minute notice. Bethany found herself staring at the bustling city of Los Angeles from twelve stories up. Bethany stood still. Gripping the window's edge tightly. The warm Los Angeles air blew mercilessly through Bethany's hair.

Now all she had to do was wait.

…

"We've got a jumper!" A uniformed officer announced, walking into the main room of the division. The team of four exchanged quick glances and jumped up.

"There's the next task," Provenza shouted, following the uniform.

The team rushed to their unmarked vehicles, listening as Sharon shouted, "Lights and sirens, gentlemen. Lights and sirens." Sharon backed out after the uniform as he led the team to the scene.

…

Bethany was still. Frozen, she watched with a beating heart as the police boundaries were set up, almost as if they thought she was actually going to jump. The older man who had arranged the whole test stood at the bottom. The man who seemed tired and stressed in person, seemed like a small ant from Bethany's view.

"Ma'am?" The guy asked holding onto the wire cable. "You're almost done." Soft reassurance. That was just what Bethany needed.

The squeal of a microphone penetrated the air. Bethany watched as some figures ducked and blocked their ears, trying to block the invading noise.

"My name is Sharon, I'm with the LAPD. Why don't you step back inside?" That wasn't even close to persuasive.

Sharon watched as the figure shock her head, her long brown hair flying across her face. Bethany looked down again, her feet moving an inch closer to the edge.

"How old are you?" Sharon asked. This definitely wasn't one of her stronger assets, and the men didn't seem to step up to the job for this one.

"Thirty-six," came the weak sound of the twelfth story jumper.

"Are you married? In a relationship?"

"Married… fourteen years."

"I bet that person would want to see you tonight," Sharon tried, straining to hear the floating answers.

"..fought…left last night."

"Little fights can be solved," Sharon kept hopping she was hitting the right buttons to get the woman to step back inside.

"Not this one," Bethany whispered to herself. This was all becoming a little personally for Bethany, maybe this was the perfect way out. He left, emptied the bank account this morning, and ran off.

Bethany unbuckled the left side of the harness.

"Ma'am! Come back in, you can't do that!" the man holding the cable said, gently pulling the cable back, hopping to pull the suicidal person back in.

_Click!_

Sharon watched as the jumper straightened her back, and drew her arms towards her chest. Bethany's hands formed a silent prayer before spreading out likes a bird's wings. Bethany's hair flew like a white flag, surrendering herself to the world. Bethany closed her eyes, and leaned forward.

…

The man holding the cable was so focused on pulling the woman back in, her didn't realize when the harness slipped from the woman's waist.

"Shit," Pope mumbled from Sharon's side as they all watch in horror as the woman fell to the sidewalk.

Sharon drew in a puff of air, "I thought this was a test." Sharon's anger focused on Pope and his stupidity. "Wasn't this supposed to be safe?"

"It was! How was I to know the woman was actually suicidal?" Pope questioned with equal anger.

Flynn bowed his head, then did Provenza, and Tao. Sharon looked the team and followed them. They were learning a great deal from the other's strengths.

"This is our first loss, may there be no more," Provenza mumbled softly.

The rookies were told it was an accident and a suicide, there was no investigation.

That was there second test.

May the third be safer.

* * *

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	3. Waves

The team shuffled quietly to their seats. They had failed one mission. Provenza glanced at the clock, they had an hour left in shift.

"Well," Pope mumbled, glancing at the pissed rookies. "That was unexpected. But now, I get to see how involved you guys get in cases. I know this is a terrible way, but it'll only help me, for future reference." Pope nodded to the group and headed off to his office. He drew the blinds, closing himself off from his nasty mistake.

The group stayed silent. No one was sure what to say or do, until Sharon spoke.

"Detective Tao, you mentioned you grew up around here, correct?"

"Correct," Tao mumbled.

"Can you name a good beach?"

Provenza's head snapped up. He was probably envisioning the young lady in a bikini.

Tao thought for a moment before saying, "There is a nice beach less than a mile from here if you would like to try that."

Sharon nodded and sat back in her chair, stretching her arms from the tiresome day. For the last hour, the group sat and chatted about places they've been to, and lessons they've learned. Sharon didn't offer much to the conversation but she listened intently and laughed at some stories.

When Pope came out of his office to announce shift was over, the happy, loose room suddenly became claustrophobic and tense.

"You guys can go. Be back here tomorrow morning," Pope said, leaving the rookies to gather their belongings and get out. Sharon mumbled her good-byes to the group and headed towards the elevator.

"You know," Flynn said stepping into the elevator next to Sharon. "Los Angeles isn't the safest place in the world. I could go with you to the beach," Flynn suggested with a boyish smile.

"Detective, I _run_ on the beach, I don't think you could keep up with me."

"I beg to differ, let me come with you and we'll see who is faster," Andy said with the hopeful smile that played across his features earlier.

"No," Sharon said after a moment. All teasing was gone. Andy's smile fell. Before Andy could say anything, the elevator dinged and Sharon walked out into the parking lot.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Andy asked.

"Yes, detective, it is my job," Sharon said coolly as she started to her car. Andy waited till Sharon drove off, before he too drove off and followed Sharon. She stopped at a bank, then the dry cleaners, and finally a pharmacy. Sharon came out of the pharmacy with a prescription. If Sharon suspected she was being followed, she didn't let anything on. Flynn followed Sharon back to her apartment complex and parked across the street. He watched Sharon walk through the doors carrying two work suits and the prescription. Andy waited patiently for seven minute. By the ten minute marker, he was about to assume Sharon wasn't going to the beach after all. Andy was ready to start his car, but then Sharon came down and headed off in her car. Andy followed Sharon to the beach. It was a quiet beach, not many people. Actually, none at all. The parking lot was small and empty, and Andy had to make sure he parked far enough from Sharon. Sharon slipped from the driver's seat, standing behind the door and surveying the beach. She stood in a sports bra and short shorts. Andy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Sharon closed the car door, locked it and placed the keys under the front tire. Sharon tucked her sneakers under the tire as well and headed bare foot onto the beach. Sharon took a deep breath and headed towards the waterline. She turned parallel to the line and ran.

Andy watched as the woman who had said no more than hundred words (give or take) ran with _confidence_. With _power_. With each stride, Sharon's form grew. When she ran, her hair in its high ponytail swayed with her arms, Sharon seemed to lose herself. Andy climbed out of his car and walked closer to where Sharon's vehicle was parked. He knew the beach was two miles down and two miles back. Andy wondered if Sharon would run the four miles or not. The running figure was lost where sky met sand and water. Andy sighed and leaned against the hood of Sharon's vehicle, he would wait for her.

…

Tao parked in his driveway and looked into the house. His girlfriend laid near the window with a book. Her slight baby bump visible in the pink maternity dress. Tao smiled and clambered out of his car and up the front steps. The couple had moved in three weeks ago once Tao heard of his new job. She was almost five weeks along. The doctors worried about her capability to hold onto a child due to some complications they spotted. But so far everything was good.

"I'm home," Tao said weakly as he plastered on a smile and walked into the living room. His girl stood and smiled.

"How was your first day?"

"We already lost one. It was all supposed to be drills, but someone- someone fell," Tao whispered, wrapping his arms around her petite frame. "It was terrible."

Kathy buried her head into her boyfriend's shoulder and sighed. "I met with the doctor today."

Tao was surprised, he didn't know she had a meeting. "Oh really? How'd it go?"

"They're worried. I am too. What will happen if I can't hold this child?" Kathy asked worried as she tried to hide her tears. Many things could go wrong in the next nine months, and Mike wanted this child so badly.

"Have faith. You'll be fine, he'll be fine," Tao reassured Kathy.

Kathy wiped her eyes with a smile and said, "How do you know it's a boy?"

"I just do."

"Well, I hope _she's _fine," Kathy said, a weak smile upon her lips. She thought something would go wrong.

* * *

Please review!


	4. She Screams Daddy

Hi everyone! If you're enjoying your holidays, I would suggest reading this later, it's a little sad. So sorry I haven't updated in a while and I hope this kind of makes sense to everyone. Sharon acts extremely out of character, but it only adds to the building plan of who she has become. I thought it would show a nice comparison to how far she's come and how hard she had worked for it. (Also, I'm only 14 so I can't say how Sharon feels the next morning is accurate.)

My editor ran off to South Carolina, so all mistakes are mine.

Merry Christmas, and Happy Holidays!

* * *

Andy watched as Sharon's figure grew was she came closer. He noticed the sweat that trailed streaks down her skin and made her hair cling. As Sharon approached her car, and Andy, she just rolled her eyes.

"Detective," Sharon politely breathed, unconscious of her attire and appearance.

"Sharon," Andy said with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" Sharon asked bluntly.

"Being your guardian angel, Beautiful."

"I don't need one. Excuse me, Detective," Sharon bent to pick up her shoes and keys. When she stood, she realized her attire. Sharon's already healthy pink cheeks turned rose red as she put her sneakers on.

"Did you run the four miles?" Andy asked trying to strike up a conversation.

"I did. Detective, if there's nothing else, would you mind letting me be?" Sharon said with as much politeness as she could muster. Andy was really starting to get on her nerves, but she had to admit, he was pretty cute. Hot, almost. The absolute last thing she wanted was him filing a complaint about her attitude and having to sit through one of the seminars she's heard about.

"I do want something. Dinner."

"No."

"I'll pick you up in an hour and a half. What's your address?"

"Detective, I-"

"Never mind. I'll look it up. I'll see you in a little bit."

Sharon stood flabbergasted. Was she just _forced_ into a dinner? Sharon shook her head and climbed into her car. Sighing, Sharon headed home.

…

Sharon walked into her apartment and listened. Everything was silent and peaceful. Daddy's pretty penny had put her boyfriend halfway through law school, and her through the academy. When she found out Jack wasn't going to put _her_ through law school, she told Daddy and he got her a nice apartment in her city of choice. Her excuse, Jack just wasn't the one and Daddy shouldn't waste the money on such a worthless man. Her mother had called her a spoiled brat, and Sharon had to agree. She had fought long and hard, trying to get Daddy to give Jack the money to start his career. Sharon wondered if Jack's little skimp paid for the rest of his _needs_.

Sharon walked towards the fridge and pulled out a cold bottle of water. Sighing, she thirstily downed the cool liquid. Jack may have ruined her relationship with her mother, but nothing would stop Daddy from protecting his little girl. He was livid when she said she wanted to become a police officer, but he supported her anyways. His way of protecting her in Los Angeles was buying her this apartment. High-end, plenty of security on the building equipped with its own guards, and close to work.

Sharon finished the bottle and headed to her bathroom for a shower. After, she placed a small amount of make up on and did up her hair. She checked the clock, she had twenty minutes to dress.

…

"You have a nice apartment," Andy stuttered looking at all the clean furniture and organized books.

"Thank you. Are those for me?" Sharon asked looking at the colorful flowers Andy held.

"Um. Yeah," Andy smiled sheepishly and handed over the flowers. "For you."

Sharon took the flowers with a hidden smirk and mumbled her thanks as she went to put them in water.

From the kitchen, she called out, "Where are you taking me?"

"Tao mentioned a good Italian place not far from here. I was thinking we could try that?"

"Oh really! Sounds perfect," Sharon returned to Andy and grabbed her purse.

"Ready?" Sharon asked.

"Ready," Andy said with a smile as Sharon followed him out locking up behind herself.

…

Sharon had time earlier to think about the dinner and she honestly saw no harm in just one dinner. Although she knew leading Andy on would most likely blow up in her face, she really wanted someone to replace Jack. And how bad could just one date be?

Andy stopped the car in front of a quaint little restaurant, two blocks from her apartment.

"We could've walked," Sharon commented as Andy opened her door and helped her step out.

"And let other people besides myself stare at you? I think not," Andy scuffed, sliding an arm to the small of her back and gently resting it there. "By the way, you look beautiful." Andy's eyes danced over the tight sleeveless dress, and low cut neckline.

Sharon bowed her head and mumbled, "Thank you."

Andy gave his name to the waiter and the two were seated at a small window table. Andy mentioned his Italian ties and Sharon entrusted him with ordering the food. They talked, and laughed, and enjoyed the time. They were the last two people in the restaurant, and the waiter was politely trying to get rid of them. The two left a couple minutes after that, a string of giggles following them. Sharon thought she might've had a drink too many, but Andy seemed perfectly sober. She didn't remember him having any alcohol. She made a mental note to ask him about that later. She stumbled slightly in her heels, gripping Andy's arm to steady herself.

"Take me home," Sharon breathed throatily with a smile and giggle.

Andy smirked and said, "Alright, Beautiful."

…

Andy walked a stumbling Sharon back to her apartment and waited for her to unlock the door. She stepped in and walked halfway down the hall before realizing that Andy wasn't behind her. Sharon strutted back towards Andy, her hair loose and framing her gorgeous features.

"Coming?" Sharon asked.

"I- No, not today," Andy said with a gulp and shaky smile. It took all his will not to run and sweep her into his arms and never let go. "Not today," Andy repeated. Sharon shrugged and turned her back to Andy.

Calling over her shoulder, Sharon said, "Suit yourself."

Andy closed the door and leaned against it, breathing deeply. _That,_ Andy thought,_ was a great night._

_…_

Sharon walked into the kitchen and pulled down a wine glass. Quickly, Sharon uncorked her favorite wine and poured some into the glass. Staring between the glass and bottle, Sharon made a cheer to herself.

"To our first lost," Sharon said taking a swig from the bottle and leaving the wine glass to be. Nobody returned the cheer, and that just made Sharon take a bigger and longer gulp. The alcohol didn't burn her throat, she's done this far too many times.

…

Sharon woke the next morning with an empty bottle of expensive wine in one hand and a massive headache. She lay sleepily on her couch, an uncomfortable lump in her back. Slowly she sat up. Fighting the headache, Sharon stood with the empty bottle and headed to the kitchen. Her feet ached from sleeping in heels, her back was knotted, and her eyes- she knew- were most likely bloodshot.

She fumbled to toss out the bottle and kick off her heels. Sharon reached for a glass, but the remnants of the wine made her hand shaky and the glass hit the tile. Glass shards bounced and slid. Thankfully, none of them hit Sharon. She reached for another glass, this time with both hands and carefully filled it with water. Sharon gulped the water faster than she did the wine bottle. The glass was refilled three mores times before Sharon's throat was moist again. Sharon put the glass into the dishwasher and ignored the broken one. She'd pick that up later.

Sharon glanced at the clock.

"Shit!" She muttered, jumping the shards on her toes. She was three hours late for work. She didn't have time to shower. The smell of white wine would linger on her skin, but she didn't care. Not today. Sharon brushed through her hair and touched up her makeup. She tried to hide the blueish purple bags under her eyes but it was no use. Her pale skin, auburn hair, headache, and dry throat made her just want to stay home. Maybe this job was too much for her. Maybe she should just run to Daddy and tell him how bad the world is. But all she'd get is a, "That's life, kid," or, "Suck it up, Honey. You choose this." She had but Sharon never thought it would be this bad.

**Cadaver #3**

"Are you diabetic?" Pope asked the young man who was going to be the next test for the rookies.

"No," The man responded with a shaky smile. "How- how will this protect me? I mean I'll still go to jail, but why should I agree to this?"

Pope shrugged, "Instead of going to jail today, you'll go tomorrow. Your last day of freedom."

Mr. Blonde hair- blue eyes nodded.

"Alright, so you just need to pretend you've overdosed on something. The team will come in a poke around at you and talk to each other. But you, you need to stay silent and still. You can blink, breath, and itch, but that's it. Don't talk to them, don't touch them, don't help them. Got it?" Pope asked staring in the depths of the man's blue eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed with his gulp but the man nodded. "Good. Now go set up," Pope barked at the man who scrambled from his seat and was lead away by the uniformed officers. Pope glanced out the glass walls at his team. Sharon still wasn't there. With a sigh, Pope sat down and started on his never ending pile of paperwork.

…

Sharon took a deep breath and stepped from the elevator. She righted her sunglasses, and finished her coffee, tossing it to the nearest trash. Sharon rounded the corner into the division's lair and walked quickly to her desk. Her was head bowed, and her arms were crossed tightly around the folders.

Provenza looked up from his crossword and watch with scrutiny as Sharon placed her stuff down. She left the sunglasses on.

"Detective, you're inside. Why don't you take the sunglasses off?" Provenza said gruffly, turning his attention back to the clue for four down.

"I think I'll keep them on," Sharon said hoarsely. Her dry throat scratching her words. She looked around her desk then headed to the break room to grab a water. Provenza's head shot up at her defiance and he watched as she scrambled down the hall.

"She arrives four hours late, offers no reason, and sounds like she swallowed an ocean!" Provenza scuffed, ignoring the puzzle altogether.

"She must have a reasonable explanation or a personal problem she might not want to share with us," Tao suggested. Andy listened to the two men before setting down his Sports Illustrated and heading to the break room.

"Sharon?" Flynn asked tentatively as he stepped into the room. Sharon stood downing a bottle of water. She held up her finger to signal for one minute. When the water bottle was empty, she tossed it and reached for another. "Sharon, what's wrong?"

"We went on one date, Andy. You don't need to pretend to worry about me."

"Sharon, if someone hurt you, you should file a complaint. Put them behind bars."

"Can't put myself back there, can I?"

Andy stepped forward, Sharon stepped back.

"Sharon-"

"Detective-" Sharon started.

_Oh, so, they're back to formalities_, Flynn thought.

"Don't pretend to care. Don't pretend," Sharon muttered, not meeting his gaze.

"Sharon, why the glasses?" Andy stepped forwards and pulled off the sunglasses.

"That's why," Sharon croaked to Andy's shocked face once he saw her puffy, bloodshot eyes. She tore her sunglasses from Andy's hands and slipped them back over her eyes. Sharon downed the second bottle of water and pulled what looked like a Motrin from her pocket. She swallowed that and reached for a third bottle.

"I left your apartment, and you got drunk. Is that why you asked me to stay? So I could drink too?! I'm a recovering alcoholic! I've been in AA for three years and haven't touched a drink in two!" Andy shouted at her, his arms flailing above his head is harsh gestures.

"Detective!" Sharon shouted over Andy's outburst. "What I do or don't do on my time is none of your business."

"That doesn't answer my question," Andy commented between clenched teeth. His patience was running dangerously low.

"No. I was hoping, Detective, you would keep me from drinking. I didn't know about you being in alcoholics anonymous. I'm- I'm sorry, Detective, I just need time mostly. To get my act together and figure out how to deal with loosing vic- people," Sharon mumbled, the third water bottle being tossed into the trash. The fridge opened and a fourth was removed from the door. Andy sighed and ran his hand down his face.

"Alright. Just, alright. Just- just know I'm here, okay, that's all I want you to know," Andy said, turning on his heels and walking from the break room. Sharon downed the fourth bottle, satisfying her throat, but starting to upset her stomach. With a shaky sigh, Sharon blinked back the tears that would just add to the redness and puffy eyes. When Sharon tilted her head back down, Chief Pope stood at the doorway.

"Sharon," Pope said, walking towards the coffee machine.

"Chief," Sharon said with a nod, finishing her fourth and final bottle of water.

"Are those new sunglasses, Detective?"

"Yes," Sharon snapped, side-stepping the Chief and heading towards the door.

"Detective, care to explain why you were four hours late this morning?"

"Personal problems that will be resolved," Sharon said defensively. She turned her back to the Chief and started walking.

"So, after a hard case, you get so drunk you miss work. Will there be a problem, Detective?" Pope asked with a raised eyebrow. Sharon stopped but didn't turn back.

"After a-" Sharon had to stop her sentence. _After a hard case, that you fucked up, yeah I drink a little. Maybe I drank too much last night, but at least I'm not the one with skeletons in the closet. _"After a hard case _do_ indulge in some alcoholic beverages, I may have had too much last night, and I do take fault for that. It won't happen again," Sharon croaked over her shoulder.

"Detective, take off the sunglasses."

"Chief-"

"You made a choice to get drunk last night, deal with it."

"Chief-" Sharon gritted through her teeth. "You made a choice and that young, divorced woman died. How do you deal with skeletons?" Sharon left the Chief stunned. She walked calmly back to her desk.

Sharon didn't even have time to sit. Pope had stalked into the room and announced the third case. Dead man, early twenty, blonde hair, and blue eyed. The team had shuffled into the elevator, Pope joining them. Provenza stood in front of Sharon, staring down in her sunglasses. Sharon and worn flats today, making everyone a head or two taller than her. Heels would've been too wobbly for her and just would've confirmed her drunken state. Sharon held her chin high and stared right back through the tinted shades into the smart-ass's eyes. Provenza must've liked her faith, and how she stared him down equally, because he backed down with a nod.

…

"It's an overdose on cocaine," Sharon said not even walking into the room. She sniffed the air audibly and shook her head. "Overdose on meth, actually."

"And how do you know?" Provenza snarked, "Why should we trust a drunk?"

The skin on skin slap startled everyone.

"Detective! My roommate overdosed on meth and I woke up to the smell of her rotting corpse the next morning. I know a little about drugs and their smells," Sharon spat, turning on her heels and walking from the room.

Pope's eyebrows raised, "She got it."

…

"Sharon," Pope said walking into the room. "My office please."

Sharon gulped, and complied.

"I really should send you on your way. A week or two leave without pay. You're hungover, you talked back to a superior officer, and slapped a peer. If you were any other person, that's exactly what I would do," Pope reprimanded. With a sigh, her continued, "But, your no any other person. You're a damn good detective, Sharon. Clean up your act and become the best. I have a feeling you could get far in life, in this police department, if you just clean up your act. For everyone."

Sharon was stunned. The leniency shown by Chief William Pope was extroadainary.

"Thank you, Sir. I promise-" Sharon stopped and took a breath, her throat scratching her words to unintelligible mumbles. "I promise it won't happen again."

Pope nodded and sighed, "Good. Now, go home and sober up."

Sharon let out a grateful sigh and mumbled her thank you before leaving the Chief's office. Provenza and Tao eyed her curiously as she packed up her things and headed for the elevator.

"Where are you going? Did the Chief give you leave without pay?" Provenza asked with a small 'I told you so' smirk on his face.

"No, Detective. He sent me home for the day so I could get better. I'll be back tomorrow morning. And I'll be on time."

The smirk fell from Provenza's face as Sharon walked freely from the lair.

"So, she gets drunk. I drive for hours listening to opera music-" Provenza said being interrupted by Tao's and Flynn's muffled chuckles. "What do you guys do?"

"I go home to my girlfriend and just hold her," Tao said with a slight blush and a small smile.

"I took her to dinner," Flynn announced.

"You did what?!" Provenza screeched, not sure if he had heard the Latino man properly.

"I took Sharon to dinner last night, and she invited me back to her house. But I just drove her home and walked her to her apartment. When I left her, she seemed okay. She had a drink too many at the restaurant. I didn't expect her to drink a bottle when I left her," Andy said hurriedly.

"Enough! Enough. Detective, you should know better than to fraternize with colleagues-"

"It was one dinner!" Flynn said defensively.

"This isn't working well. This isn't working well at all." Provenza muttered.

Pope watched the argument from his office, the glass walls offering only a little privacy between him and his division, but he had to agree with Provenza.

_This isn't working well at all._

* * *

Please review!


	5. Confessions And Blondes

I hope everyone had a fabulous New Year!

* * *

**Cadaver #4**

"Alright, are we all set here?" Pope asked looking around the staged house. The front was made to look like nothing had happened, a couple of fake blood drops on the floor leading to the back of the house. Two bloodied children dummies laid faced down, and two of the adult dummies had bullets in their heads.

"Yes, sir," One of the Prep guys answered, pushing his cart of props back down the hall.

"Clear out!" Another Prep shouted, circling his finger in the air. The ten or so Preps stopped their work and packed up their tools.

"Okay, good," Pope muttered as the once swarming room froze as everyone left. He glanced over their immaculate work, _Let Sharon figure this one out_, Pope thought.

…

Sharon was the first one in that morning. Her heels on the ground and her legs tucked under herself. Provenza arrived next, carrying the daily newspaper and a cup of coffee.

"Good morning, Detective," Sharon mumbled looking up from her magazine.

"Glad to see you here early," Provenza muttered. Sharon hummed her response, no longer interested in the conversation. Provenza shrugged off his sports coat and loosened his tie as he sat down. Provenza started his crossword puzzle for the day, but found himself looking up frequently at the young woman. He studied her habits: she licked her pointer finger to turn the glossy gossip magazine's page, she tucked and untucked her hair multiple times to block the warm sunlight and to move it from her face. Her features were slim and slightly sunken, Provenza found himself wondering what her parents look like. He wondered if she had any siblings, or if she was just Daddy's only princess. He wondered if she would ever open up about herself or if, she'd stay quiet and bottled her whole life. Most of all, Provenza wondered if she had an outlet; a way for her to let go of all the trauma they experienced on the job. He had to admit she was a damn good Detective, but that wouldn't save her ass from a future DUI or anything else.

Tao was the next to arrive. He yawned as he took his seat, placing his briefcase on his desk. He situated himself in his chair before opening the brown leather case to remove his laptop.

"Good morning," Tao muttered to the two as he pulled open the screen.

"Morning," Sharon muttered back. She watched as Provenza set his crossword down in defeat and reclined in his chair.

"How's your girlfriend?" Provenza asked looking at the young man.

"She's not good. She, um, lost the baby, a miscarriage."

Sharon's head snapped up.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry," Provenza mumbled studying the man. "If there's anything we can do, anything at all, we're here for you. Right, Sharon?"

"My condolences to you and your girlfriend," Sharon whispered. Tao nodded and blinked behind his glasses a couple of times.

"Thank you."

Flynn barged into the saddened room with a vibrant smile on his face. Provenza latched to the happiness in the man and asked, "What's got you in such a good mood?"

Flynn just winked at the man and smiled, "My little secret."

Provenza laughed and shook his head, "You meet a girl?"

"What's it matter to you?"

"Gentlemen," Pope said as he entered the room of smirking Detectives. "We have two things on our agenda today: first, there's a crime scene in the garage for you guys to check out. Second, I'll be evaluating you interrogation skills." The men groaned at the mention interrogations, none of them had done particularly well in the Academy, and neither thought they would be any better today. "You will all interrogate the same woman and find out the actual story that happened downstairs You'll figure out her position in the household, and her alibi for the events. After that, I'll introduce you to every Detective's worst enemy: paperwork. You'll file a proper report on the case with the reconstruction of the crime. I want a detailed profile on the 'killer' and the motive. Are we clear?"

A series of, "Yes, Sir," flitted to Pope's ears.

"Good. Now get started on the scene, I have a meeting to attend to, but I'll be back to watch everyone's interrogations," Chief Pope had been called by the Chief of Police to his office to discuss the events of this trail division. Pope watched as the four shuffled from their desks to the elevator, Provenza animatedly talking to Detective Flynn. He watched as Sharon walked in front of the men and practically ignored them. Pope sighed and wondered if she was ever going to properly engage with the men in the group or if she would stay forever closed off. Pope walked through the secret hallway to the Chief of Police's office. He knocked lightly and was told to come in.

"Chief," Pope greeted with a small bow of his head in respect.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. I have a very busy schedule, but I needed to know how my trial division is working. Major Crimes, was it?"

Pope nodded, "Yes, Sir. I have the four top of their class Detectives from the Academy."

"And how are you training them differently from Priority Homicide?"

"Well, Sir, although Priority Homicide is a completely different Division, I am training the Detectives I have in the very way Chief Taylor had trained his men. They're in what I'm calling the evaluation stage. As of right now, I give the Detectives a series of organized and staged crimes which they observe and make conclusions to," Chief Pope explained.

"And who will you choose to run the division?"

"Out of the four there is one woman, who I believe is more than fit to run the division. She can walk onto the floor of one a staged scene, and immediately tell the case from its smell. The one of the staged scenes the other day was a young male who had overdosed on meth. Sharon, the woman in the group, immediately announced it was an overdose on meth. Never in my lifetime, have I seen a Detective, wet behind ears, announce the cause of death without even seeing the body," Chief Pope said with much pride in his Detective.

The Chief of Police nodded in amazement, "But, if I understood correctly, she was the cause of the jumper?"

Chief Pope let out a sigh, _Time to deal with his skeletons._ "I wanted a real person up on that ledge so that the Detectives could get the feel of an actual jumper. I guess my background check on her was poor. Apparently she was suicidal and I didn't manage to see that. Her death is to be blamed on me. In all honesty, Sir, Sharon was the only one from the group who stepped up to the microphone. The three men barely made a move for the instrument."

The Chief of Police nodded again saying, "Alright, I would like to observe this woman if I could."

Pope nodded and said, "Sure, she has an evaluation in interrogation at noon. If you would like to sit in on that, Sir, I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"I'll be there. You are dismissed Chief."

"Chief," Pope saluted, leaving the office and shutting the door behind himself with a sigh. Sharon Montgomery was going to start her climb up the ladder.

…

The four Detectives exited the elevator and looked at the house that was constructed overnight.

"Twenty dollars that it's a robbery/ homicide," Provenza bet.

"Twenty it's a robbery/ double homicide," Flynn wagered. Provenza scuffed and the two men looked at Tao and Sharon. "What do you guys want to bet?"

"Twenty it's a robbery/ homicide," Tao said in agreement to Provenza's guess.

The group looked expectantly at Sharon who stared with wide eyes at the house.

"I don't normally like to gamble, but I say twenty on it being a robbery with four dead."

Provenza snickered and mumbled something that sounded like, "She's dead wrong." Tao and Flynn looked as if it would be a possibility.

"What are your reasons for that, Sharon?" Flynn asked looking at the woman.

"Well, even though this is a constructed house, it's nice and cozy. There's a pink tricycle on the front porch, meaning there is at least one child. The green dinosaur means another child. Two children, a girl and a boy. Most mother's will raise one kid, but two, on her own? That doesn't happen often. Two children, two adults," Sharon's reasoning made the utter most sense to the men. A fragile smile spread across Sharon's lips as she said, "Mind as well just pay up now."

Being men with egos, they refused and muttered that they had to see the bodies to before they paid up.

The four entered the house and saw nothing seemed to be disturbed in the entry way, meaning the family had let the killer in without a struggle. While the men trailed down the hallway, Sharon went to explore what looked like the family room. Little girl and boy toys scattered the floor. Dolls and their clothes laid on a table, Legos and dinosaurs littered the floors. Choosing her footing carefully, Sharon made her way to the picture frames that hung above the fireplace mantle. The framed pictures of the family hung on the walls in ornate frames. The family of four was repeated in most of the pictures except for one. The one picture held five people, the family and what looked to be a Grandmother. Sharon studied the older woman's frail features. Her wrinkled skin, hazel eyes, white hair, and brown glass. Carefully, Sharon took the picture down and removed the photo. Sharon looked over pictures of the family again, choosing to take the photo of the family caught mid-laugh, and happy. Picking her footing back to the hallway, Sharon went to explore what looked to be the Father's office. The man had hung his awards and diplomas with pride above the tall backed leather chair. Examining them carefully, Sharon learned the Father's name was Wilfred, he went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology out in Boston. The Grandmother in the picture was his mother, there was a picture of Wilfred kissing the older woman on the cheek as she leaned closer to her son's lips with a proud smile plastered to her face. Sharon smiled and took that picture too. The men were still in what seemed to be the kitchen, examining the bodies. Sharon smirked when she counted four.

Following the print out of stairs to the next room, Sharon entered the 'second' floor. There were four doors. Sharon walked to the firs door and entered that room. It was the little girl's room, pink walls, bedding, and throw rug over the hardwood floors. The little girl had a simple room: the toddler's bed was beneath the window (which had pink and white polkadot drapes), a small wooden book shelf, and a wooden desk. Sharon smiled as she studied the bookshelf. It was Princess stories galore there, ranging from the Disney Princesses to actual monarchy stories. Sharon ran her hand over the hand carved desk, perhaps the father had built this for his little girl. There was a picture taped to the desk, a blonde little girl sat in her Grandma's arms, the two holding the story of Cinderella in their hands. Sharon picked gently at the tape and freed to picture.

Sharon opened the second door, the little boy's room. The walls were a dark blue, and had deep green dinosaurs on them. The dinosaurs seemed to rule the room, just like the little girl's room, the boy had dinosaur bedding, and drapes. He also had a bookshelf, smaller than his sister's, and it held prehistoric books, and pop-up dinosaur books with moving jaw and feet. Sharon smiled as she examined the boy's desk. Same as the Girl's it held a picture of the boy sitting in his Grandmother's lap, showing her how the feet moved on his dinosaur. Sharon peeled the tape, careful to not wreck the picture, and added that to her pile. Sharon walked back into the hall and opened the third door. The small bathroom had a tub, two sinks, and a toilet. One sink had pony holders circling the faucet, with a hair brush, and Belle toothbrush. The other sink had a comb and dinosaur toothbrush. Smile Sharon went to the fourth and final door. Opening it slowly, Sharon walked forward. The master bedroom was a relatively big space, big enough to hold a queen sized bed, wooden armoire, and two small nightstands. A television was mounted to the wall, there was a walk in closet that could fit Sharon's wardrobe three times with space left over for twice the number of her shoes. Sighing with envy, Sharon examined the clothes. On the left was casual outfits: jeans, loose tee-shirts, sweaters, and such. On the right were Armani suits: pant-suits, skirts with matching tops and jackets, complete with a pair of matching heels. Sharon let her eyes drift over the kitten heels, strappy heels, pumps, and pointed heels. With another envious sigh, Sharon left the closet and headed for the ensuite. Same as the children's bathroom, there were two sinks, and a tub. There was also a shower, and tall cabinets with bathing salts and different hair products.

"Wow," Sharon whispered into the air, this was a dream bathroom.

There were no pictures in the master bedroom that Sharon could take and use in her interrogation. Returning to the 'first' floor, Sharon went to take her look at the bodies. The two children dummies lay in a puddle of their own fake blood, and the adult dummies were face up, one shot to each of their head, execution style. The males stopped destroying the kitchen looking for the gun and knife used on the family and watched as Sharon looked at the mess.

"Looks like, the family knew the killer, there was no disturbance in the front entryway until here. But why is only these back two room destroyed?" Sharon asked. The kitchen connected a dining room, and a television room. The dust on the wooden table in the television room showed where the television had once stood. Wires hung from the ceiling where speakers could've been mounted. In the dining room, the China cabinet had been picked clean, and the silverware had been taken. It almost looked as if the killer knew where all the valuables would be.

Sharon sighed, smiled, and said, "I'm going to interrogate that woman the Chief has for us. I expect my sixty dollars on my desk when I walk out of the interrogation room."

The men smirked. Flynn said, "You had a good call on this Sharon."

"Thank you, Detectives," Sharon said, hanging her head and walking swiftly from the house with her pictures.

Using the elevator, Sharon made it up to the division's floor. From there she walked into interrogation room one.

…

"There she is," Chief Pope said from electronics, pointing at the screen for the Chief of Police to see.

…

"Hi, my name is Detective Sharon Montgomery. You can call me Sharon, what's your name?" Sharon asked shutting the door and setting her manilla folder down. Silence filled the room. "All right, so you don't want to talk? This will just make things harder for you ma'am. Do you know these people?" Sharon asked pushing the picture of the whole family without the woman in the background.

Silence.

"Ma'am, I could help you. No one is accusing you of anything just yet. I'm just here to figure out what happened. That's all," Sharon took a comforting approach. In the Academy, they taught how to gain trust of the suspects, then use that trust to the detectives ability. A cruel way to make friends, but at least it worked.

Silence.

"Alright, I've got all day," Sharon said leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. The woman reached up and touched the picture. She placed her thumb over Wilfred's face.

"You can't hold me for more than twenty-four hours without an arrest," The woman mumbled.

"Do you know them?" Sharon lightly pushed.

The woman removed her thumb from Wilfred's face and looked Sharon in the eyes, "Never seen these people in my life."

Sharon held up her pointer finger and said, "That's one lie." Sharon produced a second picture, this time the family of four with the woman in the background. "Yes you have. Are you close with your son?"

"No. I avoid him at all costs, he dishonored our family name by marrying that… that whore!"

Sharon smirked slightly, "Did you know you have grandchildren?"

"No. I refuse to be within ten miles of that woman. I don't give a damn about her children."

"That's your second lie to me, be carful when you lie next," Sharon said holding up a second finger and producing the two photos of the little girl and boy with the woman. "How often do you visit the house?"

"I already told you! I wouldn't go within-"

Sharon started putting up a third finger.

"Fine, fine!" The older woman surrendered. "I help out around the house daily."

Sharon nodded and continued the questioning, "Where were you this morning?"

"I only help out in the afternoons, I arrived at the house at my normal time: three-" The Grandmother tried. Sharon started to put up the third finger again.

"Try again."

"I arrived at nine this morning."

"Did you know the family was murdered at nine this morning, too? Would you mind clearing this up? I don't believe in coincidences."

The Grandmother's shoulders fell, "I killed them," She muttered almost inaudibly.

"Excuse me?"

"I walked in at nine this morning, bringing in the groceries with no help from Wilfred, or his whore of a wife. The children came down, ungrateful brats, demanding breakfast and lunches. I work day and night for these children! Never once have they ever mentioned their appreciation! I had enough, that demand was my last straw. I screamed at the children, who in turned threw back their own retorts. Wilfred, my son, and his whore came down, disrupted by the noise, and took the children's side! Saying I was nothing more than their maid. I wasn't family to them, I was a slave. I shot Wilfred and his whore in the head, then strangled the children. I saved the little girl for last, she was the worst in the family. She died last. I stared into all their glassy eyes, horror stricken eyes. Nothing, and I mean _nothing_ was more gratifying than their eyes. You know the eyes are said to be the passage to the soul, the only place their soul will be is Hell. I made sure of that."

Sharon stood quickly, her metal chair echoed in the silent room when it hit the floor. She stared into the camera in the back corner of the room and said, "There's a confession."

…

Pope stood with his arms crossed over his chest, smiling proudly at the woman.

"Well, that has got to be the quickest confession I've ever seen," The Chief of Police commented, watching Sharon leave the room. "She has great manipulation skills, and the selective use of photos to prove a point, wow. Best I've ever seen from someone straight out of the Academy. How much power are you willing to give her?"

"As much as she needs to become the best," Pope responded, happy the Chief of Police saw what he saw.

…

Sharon returned to her desk where the necessary paperwork for the closure of the case sat. There was something almost comforting about the paperwork. Sharon actually almost enjoyed the paperwork. By the two minutes into the paperwork, Provenza walked up and to the interview room, placing a twenty on Sharon's desk. Sharon smiled and muttered her thanks and wished the man luck with the interrogation. Sharon finished the paperwork in five minutes flat. She was piling the papers in an orderly fashion when a slim blonde walked into the room. Her light blue top and matching cardigan worked perfectly with the black flowing skirt which ended modestly below her knees. The slightly curled hair made Sharon envious. All in all, the woman was stunning.

The blonde caught Sharon's gaze and her lips curled in a small smile, "Hi," she greeted with a southern twang. "My name is Brenda Leigh Johnson."

* * *

To the Guest who was asking about Flynn's heritage: Provenza, and Sanchez have called Flynn Latino in the show… I'm pretty sure they have. I'm almost positive Flynn is Latin (please correct me if I'm wrong here).

To Labyrinth01: I had completely forgotten about Brenda! Thanks for mentioning that, I slipped her into my overview and I can tell you, she adds a lot to the story! ;)

Please review!


	6. They Bring You in She'll Make You Talk

I thank everyone for all the love for this story, and I'm glad everyone is pleased with it! I would like to thank the Guest and Mamabella for the help on Flynn's heritage, much appreciated!

Anyways, ENJOY!

* * *

The blonde stood with a faint smile still staring at Sharon as the Detective stood. Tao rounded the corner and barely even glanced at the blonde. He placed a twenty on Sharon's desk and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"The Chief of Police hired the blonde— Brenda Leigh Johnson. I don't think Pope knows yet. Would you like me to tell him?"

"No,no. I'll tell him, thank you, Detective," Sharon whispered back with a shaky smile. "And about the loss of your child, I'm terribly sorry. If you and your girlfriend need anything, I'd gladly help."

Tao blinked back unshed tears, "I think I'll take you up on that. Would you like to grab some lunch later on today?"

"I'd love that," Sharon replied, gently patting his shoulder as she turned her attention to the blonde. "Detective-"

"Lieutenant," Brenda corrected with a slight nod.

"Lieutenant Johnson, if you'd follow me please," Sharon led the Lieutenant down the hall to the electronic room. Knocking to announce her presence, Sharon opened the door. She greeted the Chiefs, and Brenda nodded politely.

"Is there something we could do for you, Detective?" Chief Pope asked.

"Chief, this is Lieutenant Johnson," Sharon responded facing the Chief of Police. Her hands nervously sought her blazer pockets.

"Oh, she's a few days early. Thank you, Detective," The Chief of Police replied with a dismissive nod. Brenda had watched the interaction and felt that the woman in front of her was rather shaky. Brenda had a fleeting thought that she might be replacing the Detective.

Sharon muttered a faint, "Sir, Chief," and left the room.

"Ms. Johnson, would you mind giving the Chief of Police and I a second? Some paperwork must've missed my desk," Pope asked gently gesturing for her to wait outside the electronics room.

"How could you hire someone without my knowledge?" Pope feverishly whispered.

"If I remember properly, you're my subordinate. Best thing about being in charge is I don't have to explain myself," The Chief of Police said in a calm voice, hoping it would lower Pope's rage.

"You put me in charge of this division! Going out and hiring a lieutenant without my permission is not your job! You could've at least asked!" Chief Pope said, his voice raising with every word. If only the man knew what blondes did to him.

"And wait another year for you to finally hire the woman? I've waited four years to see this plan put to action! I need something good done while I'm Top Cop. The detectives will bring suspects in. She'll make them talk."

"You just witnesses Detective Montgomery make that woman talk in less than five minutes!" Pope practically cried. This whole situation was costly, Pope could have easily hired the blonde if he wanted to. The division was working. It was actually working. And the Chief of Police worried that the division wouldn't make him popular.

"Let the Lieutenant see the scene-"

"No."

"Let the Lieutenant see the scene and talk to this 'suspect'. The Lieutenant will have that woman talking the minute she sits down," The Chief of Police pleaded. He had as much faith in the woman he hired as Pope did in Sharon.

Chief Pope sighed in defeat, "She has ten minutes at the scene, and five in the interview room. If the suspect isn't talking at the five minute mark, the Lieutenant goes."

"You know, I can fire you," The Chief of Police threatened.

"And my last act will be to promote Detective Sharon Montgomery," Pope replied with the same threatening menace. He knew Sharon has potential, and he's willing to fight for her.

The Chief of Police let out a sigh, "Fine. We'll do this your way, and when Brenda wins-"

"If," Pope snarked.

"When Brenda wins, she will lead your division. You will step aside and let her. She'll go to you for help is she needs it-"

"You're making me a Taylor? That guy is fucking puppet!"

"You will step aside-"

"My career is on the line as it is. I will not let you make me murder it. I will supervise her and all her cases. That is if she can make the 'suspect' talk. Her time starts now," Pope muttered turning and walking to the door. "Lieutenant, follow me please."

Pope led Brenda to the garage where she could examine the set up scene. On the way, Pope explained what Brenda was to do. He reviewed her file later in his office. Too of her class, and extremely good notes on making people talk. Pope sighed, maybe this woman was better than Sharon.

...

Flynn, Sharon, Provenza, and Tao all passed in their paperwork and left for lunch. Brenda Leigh Johnson's blonde tendrils were shown across all the computer monitors.

"She has five minutes, starting now," Pope clocked as he turned on the audio.

"Hi," Brenda's southern twang rang through the room. "I'm Lieutenant Brenda Leigh Johnson of the LAPD, how are you, ma'am?"

Brenda folded her hands over the Manila folder. Brenda's gaze stayed locked with the 'suspect'. They sat, staring at each other, for three full minutes. Until Brenda stood and muttered, "You won't help me, I can't help you." And with that Brenda left the room. Two minutes passed, and

Pope glanced at his watch for confirmation, "That's five minutes."

...

Tao looked up from his burger to Sharon. She was poking at her salad, never once bringing it to her mouth.

"Is your salad not good? We could send it back-"

"No, no. Thank you though. The salad is fine, it's my appetite," Sharon muttered, forcing a smile. "How badly did you and your girlfriend want the baby?"

"Badly. That baby was everything to us— to me. Cathy loosing that baby, it felt like I lost a part of myself, you know?" Tao shrugged and took a sip of his coke.

Sharon hummed and said, "I know what you mean. I had a hard time with it, too."

Tao choked on his coke, "You had a miscarriage?"

* * *

Sorry to leave this with such cliffhangers! And as my apology, my Earth Science teacher brought something to my attention: The Closer and Major Crimes happen in California. Combined, the shows have covered everything from fires to Ambers, but there's one thing that was never covered. Know what it is?

As always, please review!


	7. Earthquakes At Sundown

I'm on the East Coast (Massachusetts), and it's a big football day for the fabulous Patriots. So while I listen to my father tell Bellichick how to do his job, I figured I'd update again. A short update.

And the LAPD we know has covered everything from fires to Ambers, but never once have they covered an Earthquake.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Give her some more time!" The Chief of Police pleaded. "Just another minute, one!"

"I told you five minutes is what she'll get. And five minutes is what she got. Detective Montgomery got the woman talking in five. You claimed this Lieutenant was better, and yet she wasn't," Pope said happy that his Detective was better than the blonde. "I took four years to gather a dream team. She wasn't on my list. Send her back to wherever she came from."

The Chief of Police sighed, Pope was right. Five minutes was five minutes, and Brenda Leigh Johnson didn't make it.

Pope was already out of the room, delivering the news to the young Lieutenant. With a sigh, the Chief of Police headed back to his office.

"Lieutenant Johnson, I'm sorry to say, but this job probably isn't for you," Pope said lightly.

"Sir, if this is because I didn't get a confession, I can get one. Just give me another couple minutes," Brenda pleaded. She _needed_ this job.

"Lieutenant, I have a Detective who got a confession in five minutes. Since I wasn't able to do the proper background check on you as I did on the other four, hand selected people, I can't give you this job. It wouldn't be fair to everyone else," Pope explained.

"Sir," Brenda said with a thick southern twang. "I need this job." Brenda stepped towards Pope and ran her hands up his chest hesitantly. Pope backed away and against the wall. Brenda tugged at her bottom lip and stepped forwards again. Her hands trailed up his chest and looped around Pope's neck. With a defeating sigh, Pope gave in. Brenda was beautiful. Pope raised his right hand and gently ran it through her hair. Brenda smiled and tilted her head into his palm. Pope raised his left hand and ran it through the other side of blonde curls.

Cupping Brenda's face, Pope muttered, "You're gorgeous."

Brenda seized the opportunity and leaned forward, locking her lips to Pope's. She twined her finger together at the base of his neck and pulled him closer to her.

Brenda Leigh Johnson would do anything for this job.

…

"I did. I miscarried in my second to last year in the Academy," Sharon whispered. "I had just broken up with my boyfriend, and with the stress of finals, I hadn't taken care of myself. I lost the baby because I neglected it. I guess I just wasn't meant to be a mother." Sharon shrugged as if it was nothing, loosing a child and knowing that the white picket fence dream wasn't for her.

"I bet you'd make a great mother," Tao attempted to comfort the woman.

"I brought it on myself. I can't blame it on anyone, that's probably the worst part. When my brother was murdered, I could at least place my anger to some man who had taken his life. When my baby died, I placed the anger on myself. It's rather unhealthy, make sure your girlfriend doesn't do that to herself," Sharon advised with a sad smile.

"I'll make sure I'm there for her," Tao noted and Sharon smiled.

"But then there was a part of me that was happy I lost the child. My boyfriend and I are very Catholic. Getting pregnant before marriage was frowned upon by both our families and the Church. We were going to get married quickly, then say we were blessed with the child on our wedding night," Sharon said with a slight blush. "But neither of us really loved one another. He was only with me because of the baby. And one night I had had it with him. I sent him packing. The next night, the baby was gone, and I never heard from my boyfriend, Jack, again."

Tao sighed with sympathy, "I'm so sorry-"

"No, no. I'm sorry for airing my dirty laundry. We went to lunch today for you," Sharon said pointedly, regretting she had shared so much of her past.

Sharon and Tao talked about comforting ways for Cathy, and come one o'clock, the two were at a good level.

Cathy was lucky to have such a nice man.

…

**Cadaver #5**

The team sat at their desks, doing their own thing. Pope rounded the corner into the lair, Brenda at his heels like a lost puppy.

"We have another test. First, this is Lieutenant Brenda Leigh Johnson, she'll be joining our group," Pope said, throwing the woman a lustful smile. Brenda fought back a blush and went to take the added empty desk. The four Detectives had noticed the desk, but hadn't thought much of it.

"Here in California, there are many plates that'll coll-"

"Grandpa, I don't need an Earth Science lesson," Provenza muttered, righting himself in his chair.

Pope shot Provenza a steely glare and continued his introduction, "Some schools have fire drills. Here in California, there are fire drills, but also Earthquake drills. Today, we'll travel to a remote area, with the fire department, and you will show your sharing skills. There are dummies buried under feet of debris. Your job it to remove the dummies, intact, with the fire department, for the coroner. You'll also need the debris to figure out what happened. Coordinates are in your GPS, have fun," Pope said, gesturing to the door. The group shuffled out of the room slowly.

"Lieutenant Johnson, you'll need to ride along with Detective Montgomery, just for today. You'll have a car in the morning," Pope said. Brenda nodded and flashed a big, bright smile. Painful to Sharon's eyes.

"Thank you, Chief," Brenda practically choked on her own thick twang. Sharon rolled her eyes and nodded to tell the Lieutenant to follow her.

…

"Thank you, Detective for letting me ride with you," Brenda said, flashing another eye burning smile at Sharon.

Sharon started the car and checked the coordinates.

"Doll," Sharon said in a very good, faked, southern twang. "I'm not the Chief, I don't need to be seduced."

The smile fell from Brenda's lips, and the blonde cleared her throat.

The rest of the ride was silent.

…

"Wow," Flynn muttered as he watched the Lieutenant head to examine the pile of wood. "That woman has legs."

"Tell me about it," Provenza agreed. "And that twang of hers. This is what a guy lives for."

Tao shook his head at his two new friends and headed to the pile that once used to be a house. The five stood looking at the debris, hands cupped over their eyes to block the setting desert sun. Dust blew off the wood and the fire trucks started to arrive.

"It's a Jenga puzzle," Provenza muttered.

"That seems 'bout right, Detective. The Chief does love games, they're everywhere in his office," Brenda commented, mapping out the pieces in her head. "Alright, I think we should start takin' pieces from the top. We can place them neatly over there," Brenda motioned to an area with tarps. "And we'll give the dummy victims to the coroner."

Sharon was furious. Not only did the blonde have to seduce toe boss for her job, but she was controlling.

"Let's get started. Y'all want to make friends with the fire department while I talk to the coroner?" Brenda suggested, already heading for the coroner's van. "We'll also need lights soon, Detectives. Might want to set those up now."

"And she's controlling," Provenza whispered happily to Flynn. "I'm starting to love this job!"

Sharon rolled her eyes. The woman had great suggestion.

"If you'll grab lights, I can talk to the fire department," Sharon said.

"Perfect," Provenza whispered greedily watching Brenda as she stumbled in her heels across the sand to the coroner's van.

"We'll get lights, Sharon," Flynn said flashing her a smile. Sharon smiled back, at least someone still liked her. With a sigh, Sharon stumbled slightly in her own heels towards the firemen.

* * *

Short, sorry.

I threw Brenda and Pope's affair in early, but trust me, it'll be good. And Brenda may sound bitchy and slutty right now, but that's from Sharon's view. We all know that Brenda thought Sharon was bitchy…

Please review and cheer for my Pats! (43-22)


	8. Will you help us?

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to mention that this will be the last update for a couple weeks. I have midterms coming up (yuck!) in all twelve of my classes starting friday. And because this is a shortened week with the MLK break, I don't see most of my teachers.

I'll be studying like crazy.

This chapter goes into why there was budget cuts and money problems in _The Closer._

Enjoy!

* * *

"Hello," Sharon said with a smile as she approached the firemen. "I'm Detective Sharon Montgomery with the Los Angeles Police Department. I just wanted to make sure we were all set with co-operating."

"Yes, ma'am," One of the fire fighters replied with a nod of his head and a brush of a finger across his hard hat.

"Great. I believe Lieutenant Johnson says that this is much like a Jenga puzzle. We'll be going layer by layer from the top. Part of our task is to examine the wood and determine what made the structure fall. Although, it's pretty obvious that an Earthquake destroyed the building, are there any other factors that could have brought this house down?" Sharon asked, pulling out her notebook, ready to write down the factors.

The fireman scratched his forehead and sighed, "Well, Cali houses are built to shake with the P-waves and S-waves, this house could have had poor foundation. Um, there could have been a couple foreshocks, powerful quake, then almost equally powerful aftershocks." The fireman watched as Sharon scrawled everything he said into her notebook.

"Our Chief said that there were some dummies that represented humans under that rubble. Is there anyway that they could have survived?" Sharon asked.

"Erm, well, if they had stood in a doorframe. Door frames have two-by-fours to support them, if someone had stood in the doorframe and waited the Earthquake out, they might've lived. If the Earthquake was waited out in the basement or under a sting sturdy desk, they might've lived. Ah, that seems about it for Earthquake safety," The fireman said with a sly smile.

"Thank you, you may have just completed our task for us. Please have your men ready for removing these planks," Sharon said with a bright smile, closing her notebook and tucking it safely into her blazer's pocket. She turned carefully and took a step towards the group.

"Excuse me, Detective," The fireman called after her as he jogged to catch up to her. "I was, ah, wondering if you'd, um, like to go out one night this week?"

Sharon smiled again, "I'd like that."

The fireman smiled brightly and shuffled his feet. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, "Call me when you get a chance, my cell is on the back."

Sharon took the card and headed back to the team with a genuine smile on her face. Carefully, Sharon slipped the number into her right blazer pocket. The motion did not go unnoticed by Flynn, but he knew this wasn't the appropriate time to mention it; he'd talk to her about it later.

"The fire fighters are ready when we are," Sharon announced watching a Brenda joined the group.

"Thank you, Detective," Brenda said with a smile. "I've got the coroner ready to receive these dummies. I see you men have grabbed the lights. Let's set those up and we'll get started."

Sharon shook her head in disgust but did as she was asked. She helped set up the lights and prepared for the rubble. Slowly, firefighters were elevated over the destroyed house and planks were passed to the tarp. Plank by plank, the whole house was studied by each Detective. Lieutenant Johnson walked around, monitoring the work. Brenda watched as photographs were taken and as marks in the wood were circled and catalogued.

…

An hour into it, the group had the routine down. Sharon was the first to examine a piece, when she had her view and marks on the wood, it was passed to Provenza, then from Provenza to Flynn, coming to an end at Tao who numbered and scanned the wood onto his laptop. Once he had all the pieces of wood, Tao would virtually reconstruct house.

"Lieutenant, would you like to help us or the firemen?" Provenza asked, frustrated. For one hour, the woman had been pacing in an intricate figure eight weave around the Detectives to examine their work. She hadn't placed a finger on a piece of wood.

"I'm watchin' y'all work. It seems Chief Pope did in deed chose the best of the best for this project. You know," Brenda started sitting on the end of the plastic table which held the scanned and marked wood. "This project has over three million dollars to its name. The Chiefs were hopin' this would bring in some big bucks, so they could pay back sponsors. The LAPD has a history of on time paybacks, it would terrible to their appearance if they didn't give money back on time."

"And if this project fails, and gains no money to payback the sponsors, what happens?" Tao asked, marking a five hundred fifty-one on the piece of wood at hand.

"Well, if this project were to fail, then there'd be big budget cuts within all departments. In the complex politician way, if this project fails, not only will it bring down Pope, and the Chief of Police, but also almost all departments. We'd dry up most divisions," Brenda said placing her hands by her hips to support her back. She crossed her ankles and swung her legs slowly.

"Why is this division more important that others? I mean three million, that's not a small number, and to have it all to one division?" Flynn questioned circling a little corner nick in the wood.

"Well, this division was meant to save the LAPD. Three million dollars of sponsor money. That went to buying desks, setting up these scenes, cars, softwares, and everything we'd ever need. If this division succeeds, the LAPD's credibility would never be questioned. Some cases have been questioned because of the lack of security around cases, and nonsense lawyers pick at. If the LAPD formed a credible team to solve all major crimes, then lawyers would have one last thing to poke fun at. Priority Homicide, another division established by the Chief of Police, was almost exactly like this, except they brought more havoc to the LAPD's doorsteps. With the Chief of Police's term comin' to an end, he needed to do somethin' to bring good attention to the LAPD: Major Crimes as we're livin' it was his doin'. He assigned Pope to keep track of this, while he brought up the good publicity of this department. That all make sense?" Brenda asked, tilting her head as the Detectives soaked up the new information. "I think the Chief of Police is making a public statement on television tonight. It's good to stay in the loop of everything— even if you hate politics."

"Basically we're the golden dream team? We need to solve cases, settle the LAPD's credibility, and keep the Chief of Police in business?" Provenza asked, understanding their job now.

"Exactly, Detective. And this division will do that, with me in charge at least," Brenda said with a smile.

Flynn snuck a glance at Sharon who scuffed and rolled her eyes. The glance didn't go unnoticed by Brenda. _That woman,_ Brenda thought, _is climbing up my last nerves._

…

At the five hour mark, the group stood on wobbly legs and looked over their work. The sun had set three hours ago, and the cold desert air filtered shortly after. Every single piece of wood (all two thousand eight hundred and seventy-six) had been marked, catalogued, and scanned. Tao's software had recreated the house and the size of the Earthquake. There were foreshocks, but they were hours ahead of the seven point two quake that had surprised the family and brought the house down. The dummies were extracted around the third hour. Tediously, they were removed and given to the coroner. Brenda had stood in during the 'autopsy' and brought back the report. She had read the report out loud while the Detectives continued their work.

Five hours of staring and marking wood later, they were free to go home. Tao, Provenza, Flynn, and Sharon had divided up the evidence and packed it away in their cars. They would stop at the police department and lock up the evidence before going home and crashing.

The drive back to Los Angeles was silent.

…

"Alright," Pope greeted the group of baggy eyed Detectives and the over perky Lieutenant. She was like the energizer bunny. "Pack away the evidence and you're free to go. Don't bother coming in before noon," Pope said with a gracious smile as all the planks were unloaded from the cars and locked properly away in the evidence locker. Pope knew this was a special investigations section's (SIS) job, but it would be good to have the Detectives know other division's routines.

Provenza logged the evidence and locked the door, which was checked by Chief Pope himself. Everything was safe and sound.

_This Division was going to solve all credibility issues,_ Pope thought as the Detectives departed and he lead Brenda to his car. Pope drove Brenda to her apartment, after finding out that she had taken a bus and walked, and kissed her lightly on lips.

Pope caressed her cheek and smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yeah, you will," Brenda smiled and climbed out of the car.

* * *

Please review!


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